Austin on two wheels

by Al Pastor

Austin is changing so rapidly, so dramatically, authenticity is easily overlooked. All the boffo publicity can be a bit of a strain. I know. Progress.

Here’s a glimpse along with sincere, if belated, thanks to the artist who went to the trouble of knitting a decorative cover for one of the Barton Springs bike racks. I marveled on the first day. I’m only sorry I didn’t take a photo when the colors were still vibrant, the yarn tight around the industrial post.

The decline was inevitable. The handiwork is almost all but worn to a nub now, as the bottom photo conveys. The idea, effort, creativity, skill, and – absolutely – the stylish flair, cannot go unnoticed or unremarked. Typical vanishing, understated South Austin. And unnoticed, like the timeless oasis of Barton Springs itself, just across the street from the thousands gathering again this weekend for ACL Fest.

Which is kind of apropos. It is autumn, after all. The turn of the seasons has even arrived in South Central Texas. Rain’s predicted. The withering away of the anonymous handmade muffler is just another reminder of the passage of time, the cadence of the seasons. Dear kind and gifted artist, thank you.